iridescence
by grotesqueries
Summary: nejiino- remember, princess, don't use it on people with equally fabulous hair. it won't work.


hey, guys. bet you missed me, huh? well here I am, again, with some legit chicken soup for the shipper's soul. This is based off of something Nukumi originally thought up, and after Kaara and I pounced onto it with the force of a thousand angry swans, I decided to write it. Don't ask me how. Thus, I consider this a loose collaboration between the three of us.

(I hope you guys like page breaks.)

* * *

_part 1:_** pre-timeskip**

* * *

Anko Mitarashi is sitting at her favorite dango stand when one of the Hokage's many messenger nin, one Anko is luckily at least a little aquatinted with, jumps down beside her and hands her a rather official envelope.

"Arishi. Can I help you?" she asks snottily, kicking her feet and taking the envelope.

"Message from the Hokage. You're being asked to train one of this year's graduates. Ino Yamanaka. Her teacher sent the request after conferring with the girl. She's the best candidate out of this years class for seduction training, apparently, and we're low on seduction nins." he reminds her. She grunts and pockets the envelope.

"And I assume this is her file and the request?" The nin nods once and Anko nods slowly. "Right. Well, if that's all, I have food to finish." she hints without a trace of care, eyeing the nin until he nods sharply and jumps back up to the rooftops.

"Ino Yamanaka," she echoes, scarfing her food down and paying the bill with a few crumpled up bills. She opens the later when he gets to her apartment and groans when she realizes their first meeting is tomorrow. So much for a day off.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka shoulders a sigh and, with a sharp inhale, turns over her shoulder, clutching her breakfast and setting her face to an expression of certainty. "Alright, mom, I'm off!"

"Bye, darling. And be careful, Anko bites when provoked."

"Hopefully not hard," she giggles, kissing her mother's cheek and skipping out. The place she's meeting Anko at is halfway cross the village, so she takes her time, taking comfort in the feeling of the dry earth beneath her feet and the taste of her breakfast - a muffin and a bottle of milk, both forced upon her by her mother that morning when she caught wind of Ino's intent to skip breakfast. "You'll need all of the energy you can get!" she'd scolded her, shoving the food into her hands. Shikamaru and Chouji pass by her as she takes a sip of her milk, and she responds to their looks of terror and exasperation with a smile and wave.

They'll come around, she tells herself. They've got the rest of their lives to get used to being on a team with her, anyway. Fear is natural; they're all secretly the best of friends, etcetera etcetera.

The place she's meeting Anko at turns out to be a room in the Torture and Interrogation division, and a wave of cold runs through her as she crosses the threshold and looks around cautiously, placing the remnants of her breakfast into her pouch.

"You." a voice says from behind her. She spins around, wide-eyed, and takes in the woman she automatically recognizes as Anko Mitarashi. "Ino Yamanaka?"

"Yes. You must be Anko."

"Hm. This way." She tosses her head towards a hallway behind her and turns, hands in the pockets of her jacket. "We're borrowing Ibiki's offices for the day. You know who he is? Works with your father, heads the Torture and Interrogation force and is thus the man you'll probably be kissing the ass of come your promotion to chuunin."

Ino takes a deep breath and plasters a smile on her face. "Why is that?"

Anko leads her down a series of hallways with for boding doors on either side, pushing open a door at the end of the hall and starting up the stairs. "Yamanaka's are meant for T&I. Best place for 'em, so naturally, you're next. But, that's not what you're here for, Blondie."

"I know that already."

"Oh? Good. That makes this a lot easier, then." She pushes open a door and motions for Ino to enter, closing the door tightly behind her.

Ino smiles wide as she looks around the office they're in. So this is where she'll be spending key moment of her future? "I could get used to this," she says under her breath.

"Get used to what?" Anko asks, taking a seat behind the desk and drumming her fingers on the armrests. "Don't answer that. Sit." She watches Ino with a hawks eye before continuing. "You're here so I can give you a crash course on seduction, you copy? I don't know why they're having you come to me, though. It's your dad that's the master manipulator, he'd be able to teach you this stuff much better than I could, and honestly, I don't want to do this. I'm up to my neck in chuunin exam paperwork -including yours, thanks for that, kid- and I don't have time. Sorry, kid. When I've finished the exams I'll teach you whatever you wanna know, but until then, go talk to your dad and try not to seduce your entire class. That's all. If it makes this any less of a waste of time, I can escort you out through the window."

And Ino breaks herself from her deprive of _oh, my god, my dad is going to teach me how to get laid _just long enough to grin in a conspiratorial manner.

They totally jump out of the window and Ino sticks the landing like a pro.

"Don't tell your dad I let you do that. Or Ibiki. Or anyone, really- Just don't mention it, alright?"

Ino nods and already she knows this is going to be the start of a beautiful, beautiful student-mentor relationship.

* * *

"Anko Mitarashi told you to come to your own _father _for seduction training? That woman is sick in the head, I swear." Ino giggles once and places her things on the table, waving to the men and women of the intelligence division who watch with sick curiosity at the two. "Well alright, baby girl. I've got some time- Not much, but some. You all can move on without me, right? Right. Let's go, baby girl." He beckons her forward, through the door she burst through ten minutes prior, up a flight of stairs and into his ever-familiar office, with the desk piled high with paperwork and the bouquet of flowers Ino makes sure she waters weekly and replaces monthly.

Sit anywhere, give me a second to write this out for the Hokage, then we'll get started!" She nods and plops down on a particularly fuzzy patch of the rug, watching as her father writes out a quick note to the Hokage and places it on the pile of things needed to be sent out by his assistant - a mousy chuunin with hair in her eyes and shaking hands who seems to be perpetually terrified of everything. Finally, with a flourish, he puts his pen down and sits across from his eagerly waiting daughter.

"Hurry up, dad!"

"I have every right to take my time," he says defensively. "It's not every day I have to teach my daughter how to kill men with her looks. This is a scarring experience for me."

Ino rolls her eyes. "C'mon. It's not like I'm going to use it for much else other than missions! I won't even have those types of missions until I hit chuunin! This is just practice, daddy." She says soothingly. He purses his lips and motions for her to make a mental note of everything he says.

We'll start with the basics, and if time, then some. Men! When it comes to men, don't bother trying to tell them how clever or interesting they are. That works for a while, but not long. No. With men - and _especially _boys - you want to feed their ego. Tell them they're handsome, talented, and an inspiration. Flatter their egos and you're one step closer to being in their heads and their beds. Especially their beds, but you're too young for that. Use your body as well. Anko will teach you more about this when the time comes, but there are certain signals you can send depending on how you use your body. Brush your fingers over their wrists, biceps, act very interested. Make them feel wanted, but not obsessively so. You got that?"

She nods quickly, eyes hungry. "Tell me more!"

He chuckles, checking the time briefly – has it already been that long? – and looking back to her. "Alright, alright! Eye contact is key. Without it, you're bust. Laugh, make him feel interesting, like his opinion is wanted." She nods, her mind working furiously to archive everything he says. She smiles, gradually, her hands shaking slightly out of excitement.

"Oh, daddy, I'm going to be soooo good at this!" she exclaims as soon as he finishes. He gives a nervous chuckle and stands, holding a hand out to he and pulling her up.

"One of the best. Just don't tell your poor daddy the grisly details, alright? You're still my innocent little girl, and I swear if you bring any boys home I will murder them in their sleep if they aren't good to you." She blinks slowly, giving him a slightly disdainful look. "Go test it on someone. If it doesn't work, try harder until it does."

She nods sharply, grinning wildly and leaning up to peck her father on the cheek before running out with a cry of "Thank you daddy I love you daddy bye daddy!"

Inoichi heaves a sigh and shakes his head. He can already see all of the grey hairs he's going to get from this in the future.

"I have created a monster."

* * *

Ino shows up to training the day after with a curious spring in her step.

"Oh no," Shikamaru groans, reaching into the bag of chips Chouji holds and popping a chip into his mouth. "She's _happy._"

"I'm sure we're not- Oh, she's talking to Asuma-sensei. We're done for." Chouji says quietly.

"It's been nice knowing you, Chouji."

Ino flashes her teammates a smile as she passes by them, going right to Asuma without a second thought. She can't test it on Shikamaru, and especially not Chouji, they'd be scarred for life! No, Asuma is the best. Maybe then he'll stop giving her such terrible exercises to do?

"Why Asuma-sensei, you look especially alert today! Did you add something different to your training regiment? It's paying off," she purrs, crossing her legs and batting her eyes coquettishly.

Asuma cocks his head, raising an eyebrow before having a slow moment of realization followed by an exploding laugh. "Hah! They'd told me you were picking that up. That's good, kid, but I'm old enough to be your dad. Go hunt someone your own age, princess. I'm sure you know someone who'll fall for that."

"You could have at least _tried _to act like you were forever under my spell," she pouts, crossing her arms and upturning her nose. He ruffles her hair sympathetically.

"Chin up, kid. We've gotta focus for the exams. Go join your teammates."

She bounces onto her feet and walks towards Chouji and Shikamaru with considerably less cheerfulness in her expression.

"I'm not going to ask what that was."

"Don't if you value your life."

* * *

Ino finds that the chuunin exams coincide perfectly with what she wants. She could have, of curse, simply gone out and tried it on Kiba or one of the other academy boys, but no, she wants a _challenge, _and it's a challenge she'll get if it's the last thing she does.

So when she stumbles upon Neji Hyuuga sitting in the lower branches of a tree while scoping out the forest, she almost jumps for joy. Almost. (she's got more tact than that.) But she's got a feeling there's no one around them, cause Neji's byakugan isn't activated, and he's- relaxed, almost? She wonders if that's even possible for him.

"Oh, Neji!" she calls from across the clearing, keeping her voice low. "Fancy that, us meeting like this- I've always wanted to run into you like this." She bats her eyelashes twice, meeting his eyes and cocking her hip.

"Pardon? - don't be silly, Yamanaka."

"What? I'm not being silly, it's true! You're very handsome," she coos, gathering her hair over one shoulder and running her fingers through it. She can just see the doors of his mind unlock and creak open, one by one, she's so close she can _feel _it-

But he raises an eyebrow then and crosses his arms, tossing his hair. "Admirable attempt, but no."

"But-" so close so close _so damn close, _she was right there! "How rude, Hyuuga. You know it's unkind to rebuff girls."

"I've got no time for such things, and neither do you. I suggest you get back to your team."

"And you to yours," she replies sourly, turning over her shoulder and stalking off, fists at her sides. Neji smirks at her retreating figure and stands, leaping back towards his waiting teammates.

"Team ten to the east, seven to the far south. There's only one sound team ahead."

Over where her team has made camp, Ino punches a tree so hard parts of it splinter.

* * *

She tries again when she's allowed back into the village. Sure, she's disappointed, but what kind of person would she be if she didn't try again? She can always just try Neji again once she's perfected a few others, naturally, and Shino is the perfect subject! No pesky Sakura around to interfere like what almost happened with Sasuke - dodged that bullet, Sakura almost exploded when Ino turned on the charm - Hinata won't mind, and Kurenai would probably approve too! It's perfect.

"Shino! Wait up!" she exclaims, waving and jogging towards the solitary boy with his hands in his pockets, who turns slowly to eye her and slows down only minimally.

"Yamanaka."

"Call me Ino, please." she asks shyly, meeting his eyes - or at least where his eyes should be behind his sunglasses. "So, what're you up to?"

"Lunch."

"Oh? Are you meeting someone?" he shakes his head once, his posture taking on a tense notion. "Funny, neither am I! Would you like to eat together? It'd be a crime for a boy like you to eat alone!"

"I don't know what you mean, Yama-Ino. I always eat alone, unless I am with Kiba and Hinata."

"I _mean_, you're much too sweet to eat alone!" she knows her father said not to bother with things like that, but she figures Shino is a little different. And surely, his cheeks tinge red and he shoves his hands deeper into his pocket.

"I, uh, um, perhaps another time, Yamanaka, something has come up with my father- I must go, apologies-" and he speeds off without another word. She lets a single smile come to her before assuming her usual smirk and continuing on towards the flower shop.

She later finds out from her father as she leans against the counter and sorts weeds from flowers that Shibi Aburame called, and kindly asked Inoichi to tell his daughter to refrain from using her techniques on his son without warning in the future, many thanks. After a fit of laughter that almost leaves her on the yellow floor of the shop, she realizes the poor boy has probably confined himself to a corner and sobers up long enough to throw together a bouquet of white camellias and lilacs and deliver it to the Aburame compound with an apology note.

But she still laughs.

* * *

If Neji didn't suddenly want to kiss her so badly, he'd curse the Yamanaka girl. She did this, didn't she? How was he to know her seduction attempt was actually a sleeper type, meant to explode in his head days afterwards, with her fickle mind walking and- kami-sama, she's thirteen. But he also really wants to kiss her and runs his fingers over the insides of her wrists, plus it didn't interfere with his chuunin fight - as if that fight could have gone any worse anyway- so he'll forgive her for now.

But only for now. Once this wears off, she's dead.

Across the room, Hiashi clears his throat. "Pay attention, Neji. If I see you fantasizing over that Yamanaka girl one more time, I'll go fix this and I can guarantee it won't be enjoyable for anyone, especially you."

"I am not _fantasizing, _uncle."

"I have had to assign various branch members the idiotic task of watching you so you don't moon under her window every night and release those ridiculous lovebirds, which you, by the way, bought with Hyuuga money, and I expect to be paid back in full and preferably returned."

"Their names are Ino and Neji and they shall not be returned." Neji says with an upturned scowl.

"I'm wedging a complaint with the Hokage. This has gone on for far too long." Hiashi frowns deeply. He should have known this day would come. Yamanaka's are legendary for their mind techniques, seduction included, and Neji isn't the first Hyuuga to get caught in the spell. Old grudges die hard. Hiashi grumbles as he stands, remembering how terribly charming Inoichi Yamanaka was when they were just teenagers, and how terribly hard he fell for that. Serves him well he should get flak for his actions this time.

Neji frowns and watches his uncle leave in a huff, folding his legs in the lotus position and closing his eyes. Finally, silence, so he can meditate. And think of a certain blonde genin, but mostly meditate.

* * *

Shizune takes her seat at the desk adjacent to Tsunade's having just peeked out the door, and sighs absent-mindedly as she thumbs through paperwork. "Lady Tsunade, I don't think you're going to like your next appointment…"

"What?" Tsunade demands. "Why not?" she grit her teeth in her only somewhat ladylike way, placing her glass of sake down on a small patch of desk not covered in abandoned paperwork.

"Hiashi Hyuuga. He's got a complaint about the Yamanka girl, it seems."

"The blonde mindwalking girl? Inoichi's girl? What, why?"

"She's, well-" Shizune eyes the paper with a level of disdain before looking carefully at Tsunade. "Apparently, she's seduced Hiashi's nephew as practice, now the boy's lovestruck and Hiashi is less than pleased."

Tsunade raises a piece of chocolate form the bowl on her desk and pauses mid bite as she takes in Shizune's words. The Yamanaka girl did _that_? Why would she- Kami-sama. Yes, alright. Send him in. And clean my desk later, will you?"

Shizune holds back her groan as she stands and bows. "Yes, Lady Tsunade. I'll have it cleaned during your meeting with the elders." Her footsteps are quiet on the scuffed floor, and she gently maneuvers around piles of books and scrolls with ease. "Hiashi, Tsunade will see you now."

"About time," the man grumbles, standing and pushing past Shizune. "Who gave the Yamanaka girl permission to begin seduction training and use it on anyone she pleases?"

"Apparently half of the teachers at the academy, Anko and her own father. I don't see the problem, she chose to take it up and she has the right to practice. If anyone should fall under it, it's their fault."

"My nephew is hopelessly distracted from everything from food to training. We've had to confine him in his room at nights so he doesn't go out and moon about underneath her window like some lovestruck fool. And he got birds, two lovebirds because, according to him, the sparrows bred in the family are not romantic enough. He's named them Neji and Ino. I demand that this nonsense stops."

"I'm afraid I can't stop it. However, if it'll keep you from losing your mind, your boy will come back to his senses soon enough, and I'll have someone talk to Inoichi. Now unless you've got something else to yell about, out. I have a meeting with the elders, and I'm sure your elders are complaining about it as we speak." She practically shoos him away and lets herself indulge in a smile as Shizune closes the door behind him.

"Shizune, go talk to Inoichi after you've had someone clean my desk."

"Yes, Tsunade."

* * *

Ino comes home after a long day of training, her hair plastered to her forehead and her outfit sticking to her back and knees, to find her father sitting at the table, fingers steepled.

"Something wrong, dad?"

"Shizune came to see me earlier."

"What'd she want?" She asks as she toes her shoes off and unclasps her pouch, sliding it into the cubby above their shoes.

"It was about Hiashi Hyuuga and, well, to be frank, you."

"What?" She laughs nervously, sliding into the seat across from her father. "Did I wander into the Hyuuga training fields while picking flowers again? Kami-sama, he's so _serious_! They're not using the flowers, why can't I?!"

"No, sweetie, it wasn't about that."

"Oh." she swings her legs back and forth, hands under her thighs.

"Apparently, the Hyuuga boy has been greatly affected by you. According to Hiashi, he's had to be restrained from mooning about your window after dark, and he bought lovebirds named Ino and Neji. This has been going on for a few days now- baby girl, what'd you do?"

She looks at him very seriously for a moment, her grim expression wavering slowly until finally she bursts into laughter, her hands flying up to clutch her sides as she wheezes. Inoichi manages an amused chuckle or two before she sits up straight and wipes the tears from her eyes. "Oh, daddy, I tried it on him a week ago and thought it didn't work! Haha! Kami-sama, daddy, I want those birds now!"

Inoichi just shakes his head as Ino stands up and skips out, mentally compiling the monstrous apology bouquet he's going to have to send to Hiashi after all this. Maybe with a bonus rose for old times sake?

It seems torturing the Hyuuga clan runs in the family, he notes with a nostalgic smirk.

* * *

_part 2:_ **post-timeskip**

* * *

Neji is at lunch with Tenten when he gets the mission scroll.

"You know, Neji, I really like eating with you again. It feels like it's been so long," she's saying, but all he can focus on is the messenger nin walking through the doors of the restaurant. It's been a painful, unspeakable amount of time since he's had a mission - after a brief stint in the hospital for a broken arm and then going in and out of clan meetings nearly every other day, Tsunade had been hesitant to assign him - but the nin heads straight towards him and his heart leaps.

"A mission," he says, incidentally cutting Tenten off. Tenten pauses mid sentence, whipping her head around and looking back at Neji with a smile.

"That has to be for you!" she exclaims, picking up her chopsticks and clicking them together. "Been long enough. Congrats!"

Neji nods once at her, a minuscule smile appearing, before taking the scroll he's being handed and unfurling it with an air of anxiety. Tenten watches with an appreciative smile as he looks it per and finally, he folds it and looks up. "I'm afraid I'll have to cut this lunch short."

"Of course! Go kick some ass, Hyuuga."

* * *

Ino's got to admit, she laughs when she's paired up with Neji for a reconnaissance mission. She, of course, still remembers the infamous seduction snafu and the resulting casualties, and as such she would have thought Hiashi would have requested the two never be paired for a mission…

but as she starred down at her mission scroll and focuses in on his name, she knows that simply cannot be the case. They leave tomorrow.

She looks up to see two birds, flying low of old age, circle each other.

* * *

They've got to go to Iwagakure, and that means days of traveling. Ino pulls her hair back and slings her bag over her shoulder before squaring her shoulders and looking to Neji.

"Ready, captain?"

"Yes, I am prepared. Have you said your goodbyes?"

"Of course!"

"Then we shall go." He heads off through the gates without another word and Ino spares a wave to the guards as she follows him. "It should take three days at the most, three and a half of we take our time. However, time is not an issue and we are allotted as much time as we need as long as we acquire the desired information."

"Perfect, so we'll have time for sight-seeing," she snipes, much to Neji's veiled amusement. Iwagakure may as well be a wasteland to their eyes, and they've both silently agreed that neither of them particularly wants to be there. But good pay and an easy mission will sway even the best of ninja.

"Indeed we will- perhaps we can procure a tour of the village's more desolate delights in our spare time."

Ino bites out a laugh from behind pursed lips, her shoulders shaking with controlled mirth. "Who knew you had a sense of humor, Hyuuga?"

"Do not expect to see it much, Yamanaka."

"Too late!" she jibes, matching his hurried pace as they go up into the trees and leap from branch to branch. For hours they go on, only stopping for short periods to take passing sips of water and occasional bites of food, and they only stop when the sun has long since set and they both agree that the ache in their feet and legs has gone on long enough. They make camp by a lake surrounded by flowers Ino habitually lists off, and Neji goes to refill their canteens as she unpacks for the night. He comes back, hands her canteen off, and sits down on his bedroll, pulling food from his bag and taking small bites of it, as if it's absolutely necessary to relish the taste of it. Under the waxing moon, Ino sits adjacent from him and crosses her legs, hands resting on the cold grass.

"You know, I was surprised when we were paired up for this. I would have thought after the chuunin exams, your uncle would have demanded we never be placed together."

"As was I. But he may have forgotten, it was quite a while ago." He finishes his food slowly, wiping his mouth and placing the container back into his bag before speaking. "But it was certainly amusing. You do remember everything, I assume, trying to seduce me, and acting quite disappointed when it didn't work, only to find out I'd been beneath your window with lovebirds for a week. Uncle was so displeased he yelled at any official he could find."

She laughs from behind her canteen, capping it and placing it between her legs. "The intelligence corps were besides themselves! I laughed so hard when daddy told me, and I almost went to the compound! I wanted those birds," she adds. He smiles at her, a genuine smile that lifts her heart just enough for her to go on. "Even if I thought it hadn't worked, though, I was very proud of how you fought during your second match in the exams. And how you handled the news afterwards - _yes, _I know. Of_ course_ I know! Very brave, it made me curse not winning my own match.

"I admired your decision, despite its lack of strategic planning or rational thought. You felt something, I felt only hatred. You could have won, however, if you'd tried. You're a very capable ninja." He says crisply, shifting his weight.

She bats her eyelashes, placing her hands behind her. "Even in seduction?"

"I wouldn't know," he replies, but she sees the glint of challenge in his eyes and takes it with a fury. Just for fun, she tells herself- as she sidles over to him and rests her arm against his, blue eyes glinting and shining by the light of the fire.

"I can try again, you know, I've gotten so much better- also as good as you are handsome, Neji Hyuuga." And although he knows she's doing it on purpose and knows she knows he knows this is a joke, a reminiscence of older days, he stills feels a part of him melt for the Yamanaka girl.

Perhaps old affections die hard.

They say their goodnights and turn to their beds, but Neji Hyuuga is kept awake by the hysterical beating of his heart, and judging by her chakra signature, so is she.

When they get to Iwagakure and check into their hotel under the guise of Hatsumi and Natako Kachiwa, the first thing they do is fall into their bed and stay there.

* * *

Walking Iwa is easier than they think and they decide to leave by the end of the week, knowing that any longer with their snooping - covered only by an innocent couples naivety - and they will be seen as more suspicious than they already are, but as they walk back towards the gates of Konoha, bodies tired, they exchange a mutual look of veiled horror at the realization that they, for once did not think something through.

The spontaneous kissing and touching and whispering in the night - it ends at Konoha's border. And after a week of impulsive, rash decisions regarding it, they can end it – whatever _it _really is - easily - but not without unanswered questions.

"See you around?" Ino asks as they cross the threshold of the village.

Neji nods in response, taking the paperwork from her and letting his skin rest against hers for precious seconds before they part ways. Tsunade will be pleased, they know that well enough, but they doubt she'd be pleased if she knew what they'd accidentally gotten themselves into, what Ino started as a joke and they both carried on with a rare lack of foresight. Coming back to the village with a severe case of mooneyes wasn't part of the plan if they even have one.

But, as they find out weeks later, when they both receive yet another mission scroll, if she knows, she probably doesn't care.

They haven't talked about it at all really, just occasional eye contact across rooms and through crowds in restaurants and shops, but when he chooses a night when Inoichi is working late on a mission to come and go over the mission - a more dangerous sort heavily employing Neji's fighting skills and Ino's infiltration tactics - she wonders if he thinks about them at night when the moon is full and the birds of the night sing.

"I apologize if this is a bad time," he starts as she lets him in with an air of surprise and closes the door behind him. "It was the only time I felt we could go over this without getting interrupted."

"It's no issue, I wasn't doing anything that desperately requires my attention. Water?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you." he replies, taking a seat. Her kitchen is exactly how he'd imagined it - or would have, if he thought about such things. Sparsely equipped, neat, clean, cream with sea-blue accents and lilacs everywhere. "I assume you know the nature of this already?"

"Of course. Hey, maybe this time we'll be so busy we might be able to keep our hands off of each other," she quips, fetching her paperwork from the bag sitting on the counter.

"Unlikely," he says in an even, almost joking tone.

Before he even has time to place his own paperwork down she has thrown herself at him with near wild abandon coupled with precise care. Lips meet lips roughly and his arms snake around her, pulling her close to him. The world seems to fade away, though in the back of both of their minds they register that they are, indeed, making out in her kitchen. He pulls back briefly so he can stand, easing the angle of her neck, and then kisses her again, slowly this time, hands still holding her close.

They don't stand a chance of completing this mission distraction free, Ino decides, right then and there as his lips press fervently against hers.

Not a chance in hell.

* * *

well, there you go- hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
